It can be sad, serious, upsetting, ridiculous and even side-splitting.
The daily police reports in The Durango Herald hold a mirror to our community and show us what we do – at least what some of us do, anyway.
Here’s a look at some of the more intriguing items from 2013:
January
Jan. 1 10:06 p.m. A man tried to pay for a drink with marijuana at Colorado Pongas, 121 W. Eighth St. He also gestured as if he had a weapon. Police made an arrest.
Jan. 23 1:37 a.m. A man was trying to fall asleep on the floor with his dog at the Conoco gas station, 901 Camino del Rio.
Jan. 25 8:12 a.m. Someone was caught on surveillance footage changing prices on the merchandise at the La Plata County Humane Society Thrift Store, 1111 South Camino del Rio.
February
Feb. 4 11:57 a.m. Someone was poked by a needle while cleaning a room at the Spanish Trails Inn & Suites, 3141 Main Ave.
Feb. 4 7:57 p.m. A woman found suspicious items in her laundry that did not belong to her in the 300 block of West Park Avenue.
Feb. 16 9:55 a.m. Someone found a bagful of cameras at Rotary Park, 1565 East Second Ave.
Feb. 23 5:08 p.m. Homeless people stole an electric cart from Albertsons, 311 W. College Drive, and they were riding it in the area.
March
March 3 9:03 a.m. Someone set up a slack line without protective pads in the 600 block of East Third Avenue.
March 6 9:15 a.m. Someone at the police station, 990 East Second Ave., had questions about the legal age of consent.
March 12 7:06 a.m. Someone reported a 3-foot sink hole in the center of the road on Westwood Place.
March 21 9:43 a.m. A woman’s teenage daughter was refusing to go to school, according to a report from the 600 block of Arroyo Drive.
April
April 16 1:50 p.m. A woman wanted to talk to police about an ad on craigslist.com referring to a baby for sale, according to a report from the La Plata County Courthouse, 1060 East Second Ave.
April 19 1:15 a.m. A man reported his roommate was being loud and rude, and he wanted him removed in the 1300 block of Florida Road.
April 29 12:48 p.m. Someone was on top of a roof flying a kite in the 1000 block of Main Avenue.
May
May 4 7:20 p.m. A man passed out on a table at Iris Park, 1235 Camino del Rio, and his dog wouldn’t let anyone near him.
May 7 6:42 p.m. A man in baggy clothes with a machete on his left hip made a suspicious gesture at a person in the 400 block of South Camino del Rio.
May 8 4:59 p.m. A caller from the 800 block of Goeglein Gulch Road asked for help in starting her apartment heater.
May 13 12:20 a.m. Someone reported seeing an animal that looked like a wolf behind the Travelodge, 2970 Main Ave.
May 16 2:28 a.m. A man was screaming and howling like an animal in the 700 block of Goeglein Gulch Road.
May 22 9:29 a.m. Someone found an urn in a chair behind a motel in the 2000 block of Main Avenue.
June
June 6 12:16 a.m. Someone complained of loud leaf blowers at north City Market, 3130 Main Ave.
June 6 8:55 p.m. A juvenile was fishing over a fence at the Durango fish hatchery, 151 E. 16th St. Police made an arrest.
June 20 11:38 p.m. Someone driving a white SUV with a bike rack on top kept hitting a parking meter in the east 100 block of Eighth Street. Police arrested the driver on suspicion of drunken driving.
June 21 10:57 a.m. A man who looked about 35 was carrying a 3-foot long saber in the 1900 block of East Third Avenue, near Durango Public Library.
June 23 11:57 p.m. Someone driving a pickup with out-of-state plates had no right front tire and was causing sparks on the frontage road near Bodo Industrial Park. Police arrested someone for drunken driving.
June 26 2:43 a.m. A citation was issued for a bad job of parking in the 400 block of Jenkins Ranch Road.
June 28 7:04 a.m. A manhole cover was missing again at East Third Avenue and east 32nd Street.
July
July 5 9:59 a.m. A drunken man was eating dirt and pine needles near Albertsons, 311 W. College Drive.
August
Aug. 1 5:23 p.m. A man and a woman possibly stole a bottle of barbecue sauce from Serious Texas Bar-B-Q, 650 South Camino del Rio.
Aug. 18 12:27 p.m. A woman wanted to talk to police about her daughter getting a piercing without the mother’s permission, according to a report in the 1800 block of Main Avenue.
Aug. 22 5:54 p.m. A man had video of someone stealing a plant from a business in the 600 block of Main Avenue.
Aug. 27 11:35 p.m. A man reported a loud ringing sound outside in the area of 32nd Street and Main Avenue.
Aug. 31 9:50 a.m. A woman called 911 very upset because AT&T would not open earlier for her, according to a report at AT&T Wireless, 1185 South Camino del Rio.
September
Sept. 12 8:18 a.m. A man was sitting on a sidewalk making notes about passers-by near 32nd Street and Main Avenue.
Sept. 18 6:05 p.m. Someone reported smoke coming from computers inside a house at 25 Sunshine Court.
Sept. 25 6:07 a.m. A tall man wearing underwear was seen in the bushes at Terrace Gardens Condominiums, 1135 Florida Road.
Sept. 27 9 a.m. A vacant school bus had its stop sign out, and it was causing a traffic hazard near Fassbinder Park, 140 West Park Ave.
October
Oct. 4 4:51 a.m. Someone seemed to be irate possibly about a dead raccoon in the 2100 block of Main Avenue.
Oct. 12 3:17 p.m. Someone mooned the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad’s “Great Pumpkin Patch” train as it went past the Durango Public Library, 1900 East Third Ave.
Oct. 15 1:19 p.m. People protesting accessory dwelling units were causing a traffic hazard in the 1200 block of Camino del Rio, near River City Hall.
Oct. 24 10:05 a.m. Someone in the 20900 block of U.S. Highway 160 received a burned gun in the mail.
Oct. 27 12:51 a.m. A man wearing a furry jacket and pink tutu was doing cocaine in a bathroom at Animas City Theater, 128 E. College Drive. Police made an arrest.
November
Nov. 6 10:43 p.m. A man was running around screaming with no clothes on in the 700 block of Animas View Drive. Police made an arrest.
Nov. 11 9:21 p.m. Sixteen deer were in the road in the 1600 block of Main Avenue.
Nov. 14 4:46 p.m. An employee at GameStop asked for extra patrol at midnight for the launch of a new game system.
Nov. 16 11:07 a.m. Someone reported a continuous problem with a house being egged in the 2100 block of West Second Ave.
Nov. 21 6:15 p.m. Someone found a bag of medical marijuana in the road near Durango Coffee Co., 730 Main Ave.
Nov. 23 9:28 p.m. Someone claimed to have seen a fugitive at Kentucky Fried Chicken, 2922 Main Ave.
Nov. 25 1:12 p.m. A man was trying to steal a woman’s canoe in the 3500 block of Silverton Street.
December
Dec. 12 11:24 p.m. Neighbors in the 1300 block of Florida Road were playing guitar and singing loudly.
Dec. 17 11:35 a.m. An upset customer pushed over the Cinnabon rack at Burger King, 1415 Main Ave.
Dec. 19 3:01 p.m. Someone fell in a hole in the 1200 block of Avenida del Sol.
Dec. 22 12:34 a.m. Train crossing lights and sounds were going off every six minutes at East Second Avenue and east 15th Street.
